1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microelectronic package suitable for high frequency devices, using a minimum of conductive materials and a process for making the electronic package. More particularly, the invention relates to a microelectronic package design that eliminates superfluous electrical conductors and can be used as an electronic interconnect housing for high frequency electronic devices and components.
2. Description of Related Art
A key requirement for the packaging of a microelectronic device is that signals move through the package's conductive interconnects in such a way that the electrical interconnection causes minimal change in the signals. It is difficult, however, to fabricate microelectronic packages to achieve minimal signal change at higher frequencies, i.e., greater than 20 Gigahertz (GHz).
A conventional microelectronic package design achieves transfer of signals in and out of the package for frequencies as high as 23 GHz. This package has a metal cover, which must be maintained at the same electrical potential as the electrical circuit ground to achieve such performance. In order to ground the cover, however, internal vias and external side metalization are required. This added metal, in relatively close proximity to the internal circuit and electrical conductors, debases and limits the ultimate performance of the device. Moreover, conventional packages have limited frequency range, excessive transmitted and reflective loss, limited input/output isolation, high cost, and limited reliability, resulting in a lack of general applicability.
Therefore, a need exists for a microelectronic package that eliminates superfluous electrical conductors, provides structural packaging members fabricated from non-conductors and having a relatively uniform dielectric constant, has a high frequency range, and is low in cost without sacrificing reliability.